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Yousef Alabdulqder
Mark Vincent
CJ 1010
April 22, 2016
Gun Control
The use of guns has been a controversial issue for many decades. The argument of gun
violence and gun protraction has been an important discussion regarding political parties. The
Constitutional Second Amendment states that people have the right bear arms (Dicker). This
means that people of society have the right to own a gun and protect themselves. Even though
the Constitution states bearing arms is legal, there are many groups that do not think this is a
good idea.
The crime that occurs in our country results in a lot of gun issues involved in these crimes.
People who should not have had guns in their possession ultimately are the ones who commit
these crimes. The government has put programs into place to help with background checks when
people want to purchase a gun. These programs do not help protect people when the guns are
being bought on the street, or dealt in a black market. There is no law that could be set in place
to keep guns solely out of the hands of those who are not allowed to possess them. People who
buy guns illegally, and trade to have a gun in their possession are not going to worry about the
laws that say they should not own a gun.
People who are legally allowed to own guns do so for many reasons. They own guns because
the Constitution says they can. The guns can be used for hunting, recreational, collection, and
protection. When these guns are used for the legal purposes that they are allowed to be used for
then there should not be any issues. When people shoot another human being because they are

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threatened or in danger, then they are protecting their home and family. If guns are allowed in the
country with the respects of adequate background and ownership, why is the issue so
controversial? The different scenarios regarding gun control will be discussed, and analyzed as
to what accepted in society.
Gun Control and Criminal Justice
The Criminal Justice System has taken a look at the gun control issue in America after several
school shootings took place in the past decade. The school shootings have sparked attention
from the media and the Justice System. The debate across American to take away the right to
bear arms has heightened society and caused massive controversy over the Constitutional Rights.
The media has portrayed the horrific events across the world new to enhance the argument over
gun control and protraction regarding the citizens of the country.
There are groups like the National Rifle Association (NRA) who believe in gun ownership,
rights to bear arms, and the right to protect their home and loved ones. Other groups who are
against gun violence have argued that guns are causing crime and harm in this nation. The
people who are using these weapons for violence are not allowed to own guns due to criminal
backgrounds, or mental illness. The fight to ban gun ownership and control gun violence is
based on the individuals who had gotten guns illegally. Even if the ban on gun control was
implemented in this country there would still be people buying guns illegally and on the street.
This would not stop the criminals from getting their hands on guns. Criminals have no respect
for the law and therefore the gun control is no concern for the criminals of this country.
The gun crime rate has decreased since 2004. Fast Check had reported that violent crimes
had been lower than they ever had since 2004 (Newell). The controversy over gun control has
not impacted the lower rate of gun violence, but politicians make it a point to discuss this issue

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in their campaign. Even though the rate of violence with guns had gone down over the last
decade, there are still debates regarding the Second Amendment of the Constitution, and whether
it should be eliminated completely to deter the gun violence in the country.
Gun Control Advocates
Advocates are people who are either for gun control or against gun control. Both sides have
been the base of this argument and the media thrives on the debated attention that the topic
offers. Citizens who are in favor of keeping gun rights or protection has made it clear that they
feel safer owning a weapon to protect their family and home, than if they were unarmed against
criminals (Cozic).
One scenario of this issue pertains to a person who has no weapon and is victimized by a
criminal in the home. If that person had owned a weapon, then they could have protected
themselves against the armed gunmen. The advocates for gun control see this scenario as a good
example as to keeping the gun rights or citizens for protection against armed criminals. There
have been numerous stories of people saving lives of their loved ones against gunmen because
they did exercise their right to bear arms. They owned weapons and protect their homes and
family by shooting the intruder who could have taken the victims life. Instead, the victim had
shot and wounded or killed the intruder. The family was unharmed because of the outcome of
protecting themselves from harm.
People who are against the right to bear arms feel that this is the cause of gun violence in
America. They think that if people were unarmed and not allowed to own guns then the gun
violence would cease. These groups of people think that the Second Amendment of the
Constitution refers to law enforcement and the militia. They do not think the Amendment was in
regards to all citizens having the right to own guns and use them for protraction. These same

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groups would like to see the Amendment be stripped out of the Constitution to put a stop to gun
violence and criminals. This debate amongst citizens, politicians, law enforcement, and
legislation has been a back and forth argument for a long time. It may still exist long into the
future until the outcome is determined on how to control gun violence regarding criminals.
Advocates also believe that if they remove gun ownership out of the equations it would
reduce the rate of suicide, crimes, and accidental shootings that involved innocent people such as
children. It all boils down to if guns are removed from the equation for legal citizens that were
capable of ownership, then what will happen to the guns that are being sold on the street or black
markets. Those guns would still be available or criminals to buy and use to promote violence and
crime.
Gun Ownership Facts
Gun ownership in America has been on the rise since the 2011 terrorist attacks. The statistics
relate to the 2009 year of ownership of weapons regarding guns. In 2009, there were
approximately 308 million people who lived in the country. Out of those people, there was a
reported number of 300 million who owned at least one firearm. The gun manufacturing
companies had reported that as of 2010 there were over 1 million people who had ownership of
handguns (Smith).
Out of those people, the percentage of males who owned a gun was about half of the 1 million
individuals. Many politicians involved in republican and democratic status also owned guns.
Out of the one million gun owners in American approximately 67% had purchased a gun for
protection and safety of their home and family. Almost the same amount of people estimated at
66% had purchased the firearm for target practice. Another percentage of approximately 58%
had purchased a gun for hunting purposes.

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President Obama and Gun Control
President Barrack Obama had put an effort to deter the gun violence in America. He had
made tougher rules which could help decrease guns being put into the wrong hands of criminals.
The National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) was one of the targets that
Obama had revised to make the checks more useful for gun purchasers (Fredrick). The system
has been in place or years but the system will utilize the process with enhanced checks. The
checks are to be made faster than before, and gun purchasers need to wait on the results before
the gun would be in their possession.
The gun control plans that Obama is working on consists of several areas concerning guns.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) have required that any
business or organization who sells firearms have a federal license to promote sales. The
businesses are required by this federal law to run a background check on all alleged sales of
firearms. The sales of guns are required to have a license and do the background check for any
person or business selling a weapon even it is online sales. If the person selling the gun does not
sell frequently then they are still required to uphold the law and fill these requirements. If a
person is caught selling guns without a license or conducting background checks they will be
punished by law. The punishment could range up to five years in prison, and a fine of no more
than $250,000 (Fredrick).
The Federal Bureau of Investigations is required to oversee the background checks for gun
purchases. Any issue that arises should be dealt with immediately and more communication
between local, state and federal governments will ensure a better knowledge of illegal gun sales.
The people who attempt to buy a gun and are not legally allowed to, action will be taken from
law enforcement. The FBI is hiring more people to conduct the background checks regarding

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gun sales and these checks will be conducted limitless. Background checks will be able to be ran
24 hours a day and seven days a week with a faster result concerning the check.
Need for More Gun Laws
Gun control issues are raising concerns on both sides of the debate. In America, there are
approximately 270,000,000 guns that are owned in the country (Curie). This number per capita
is the highest amount amongst all countries in the world. This means that the number of guns
owned in America has trumped all other countries across the globe. The high amount of gun
ownership or purchases in the country has stemmed from several reasons. The first reason that
people are increasing purchasing weapons is because the second amendment says they can. The
second is for protection against criminals, and the huge increase in terrorist attacks. People who
had witnessed the increase rate of terrorist attacks had become scared and felt their safety was
possible violated. To make them feel safer in the violent country they purchased a gun for
protection.
The need for better protection against guns being bought by people who are not allowed to
obtain one is a must. The criminals who purchase guns know they are not allowed to own one
for reasons of criminal background or mental state. Instead of walking into a gun store and
getting rejected they will buy one off the street or borrow a gun from a friend. The laws on guns
may not help reduce violent crimes as much as lawmakers think it will. Instead, the criminals
are getting guns elsewhere. The same scenario can be compared to drugs. Drugs are illegal in
most of the country but people still find the drugs and purchase them. If someone wants
something they are not going to let the laws stop them from purchasing guns or drugs. Gun
control needs to be focused on shutting down black markets, and getting guns out of the hands of
individuals who are legally are not allowed to own weapons.

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Work Cited
Cozic, C P. "Gun Control." National Criminal Justice Reference Service (2012): 1-4. web.
Curie, Marie. "Should More Gun Control Laws Be Enacted." ProCon (2016): 1-6. web.
Dicker, Rachael. "Gun Control and Gun Rights." U.S. News (2013): 1-11. web.
Fredrick, Susan. "PRESIDENT OBAMAS 2015 EXECUTIVE ACTIONS ON GUN
CONTROL." National Conference of State Legislatures (2016): 1-5. web.
Newell, Chris. "How Gun Control Fit in with Criminal Justice." Criminal Justice (2013): 1-3.
web.
Smith, James D. Agresti and Reid K. "Gun Control." Gun Facts (2015): 1-14. web.